Broadband News

Walmart in US offers format shifting service

The US for some years has had a different approach to format shifting, in
that for consumers they have a right to fair use, and format shifting was
allowed. In the UK it is still to be made legal, though obviously ripping a DVD
or Blu-ray and then uploading it to a file-sharing network would still infringe
copyright.

Walmart through its 3,500 stores across America is bringing format shifting to the masses, with people able to obtain
a digital copy of DVDs and Blu-ray discs that they own for $2, and where you
only own a DVD copy, you can upgrade to a 1080p version for $5. The consumer
gets to retain the physical media, and the ripping does not occur in store,
paying for the rip simply buys you access to a stream from the VUDU
service.

The content appears to be at a reasonable quality level with SD running at 1
Mbps, and HDX (1080p) running at around 4.5 Mbps. Currently a range of devices
are supported including, PC, Mac, PS3, XBox 360, Blu-ray players, Internet
enabled TVs and the iPad, it is thought that an Android app is in
development.

While the service still uses DRM, it shows a possible way forward for the
UK. Ripping using the many DVD and Blu-ray rip utilities on the market may
prove cheaper, but the time taken and hassle factor will put many off. As part
of the puzzle to help reduce copyright infringement, and increase income for
the movie studios, but still offer a reasonable price to the consumer this new
Walmart service will be interesting to watch.

With Asda owned by Walmart in the UK, and Netflix growing its presence in
the UK, with a sole main competitor in the form of Lovefilm, it is just
possible we may see more options for the UK consumer over the next 12
months.

Comments

I find this a little strange - they charge you $2 to view something that you already own and can watch for free at home.

I can see a possible benefit of being able to take your entire video collection away with you, but this relies on access to good connectivity. Unfortunately, I tend to find that connectivity is either very bad or very expensive when travelling. And why pay a fee for each item in your collection, when you're only going to pick and watch one film at a time?

What am I missing?

opticalgirl

over 6 years ago

Missing - the rise of computing devices that do not have optical drives in them.

$2 for a 1080p copy of a blu-ray without the hassle of ripping will appeal to many.

andrew

over 6 years ago

Yes, but if i want to watch a film at home, I have a choice of five devices that DO have an optical drive. The devices that don't have very small screens, and wouldn't be the one's that I'd choose to watch videos on.

opticalgirl

over 6 years ago

As usual, torrent/usenet is still king of the hill, no hassle of drm/going to a store and the rip is higher quality (4.5Mbps is low for 1080p).

otester

over 6 years ago

All will go well until the movie studios either a)get bored of it or b)want more money and as a result the price will rise and noone will bother any more if they bother at all. Then what will happen is the movie studios will come out throwing another tantrum saying wahhh piracy and try push another set of crook lawsuits/lobbying/bullying/extortion/etc through

Firefalcon

over 6 years ago

Oh great. Pay and pay over and over again for content you already own. Oh, wait....you don't actually own it, just a licence to watch it, which, of course, can be varied at will by BIG ENTERTAINMENT to screw even more money out of you